Jeb Road- Planning and Zoning- Nicole Daily- this is a continuation of the request to rename the private section of Jeb Rd to Jeb Lane. They had also notified neighbors. No additional phone calls or responses received since last discussed. McHenry said the main concern is house numbers are out of sequence. This also distinguishes between private lane which is not publicly maintained and the main road which is per Daily.

PUBLIC:

Karl Galey- said he would not reiterate his concerns from last time. He said the mailboxes are out at the main road at the cul-de-dac. He thought that would not affect how the numbers were on the houses.

McHenry explained why they are addressing those issues regarding mail, emergency services, etc. Galey said that 911 addresses came up one time before and they didn’t fix it then. He does not intend to change his address.

A woman spoke (name garbled) from Jeb Drive. She did not know what this was mishandled from the beginning. She has frontage on Jeb Drive but her driveway is on the private section. McHenry also stressed they should try to put numbers outside at the end of their driveway even though their mailbox is at the end of the lane at the cul-de-sac.

Penningon said they have been doing GIS for fire hydrants for FD in Bright.

McHenry asked how they felt about this since they had taken the time to come down. The group said they want to keep their address. They only want the one or two out of sequence to be fixed- but not the rest.

Baudendistel said that the Planning Dept. has the authority to fix these numbers. The numbers should be 3 inches in height. Haley asked if the out of sequence people were notified. Daily said that they were and they got different letters from the rest. Lynch addressed the side of not changing numbers is not a good idea- from the emergency services standpoint.

Lynch motioned to change Jeb Dr to Jeb Lane for the private section. Machinery want dot table until Little could be available as he was unwell and had a death in the family. TABLED until the 2nd

meeting in MARCH- March 17th. Feb has two morning meetings.

NEW BUSINESS

SE Indiana Work Force Investment Board- Kurt Kegerreir- not present

Jail Food Bids- Sheriff Mike Kreinhop- Received no more food bids- so asked permission to use the 3 companies with GortonFoods being the primary provider. Ellenbee Leggett is 2nd one. Tabled to get the price lists from 2014. They did’t get bids in 2014 either. [NOTE: How do we get competitive pricing if no one bids? Can’t we require it?]

INSERTED HERE- NOT ON AGENDA- Harrison Fire Chief. - He presented information regarding how they will cover the Whitewater Mills hazardous materials (Chlorine) in a fire or incident. Whitewater Mills has some automatic shut offs with respect to the chlorine if it spilled. He had given the Commissioners a binder of this material and procedures. They have 2 HAZMAT specialists and others who are well trained in that response. Commissioners thanked him for covering this so thoroughly. They will also be doing some training on this per the fire chief.

CASA Grant Approvals and Update- Donna Thacker- she planted date seeds of coordinating the adjoining counties on surveys previously and it has worked out this year. Lawrenceburg funded this. CMHC has a 6 month intensive substance abuse program. They are also training smaller police communities for them to receive training on substance abuse. She passed out their annual report. Commissioners approved the report, grant, and all the claims listed.

EMA Grant Applications for Salary Reimbursement- Bill Black- $93,640.88 was requested and they will approve half of it at 46,844.20. This covers half their salaries. Commissioners approved the EMA grant application.

Black had a couple questions. He sent out information on the trailer they had available. A couple depts. are interested. Baudendistel said that he mis-spoke last meeting regarding the $5,000 and under value - that was for a group of items. If it is a single item- then it has to be worth $1,000 or less. Solid Waste, Boy Scouts, 4-H were interested. They will try to get an appraised value of sorts.

No one offered to be on Gr Cinti Hazmat Board. He will take it for now. Mike Eaglen will be the 2nd one to go to that Hazmat Board.

Certify Appointment of Local Health Officer- Health Board- Dr. Gary Scudder was appointed by the Board of Health. Commissioners certified it.

Appointment of Hospital Board Trustee-Bill Ritzmann was re-appointed to the board effective July 1 2015 for 4 more years.

Approval of Commissioners Certificate Sale Calendar- Pennington said it is their standard calendar. Thurs April 9 at 10 AM is the sale. Approved.

ADMINISTRATOR – Terri Randall- only one item-( not on agenda) on behalf of Todd Listerman, who couldn’t be present. They have been working with McCormack and Commissioner Lynch at OKI on projects to help the county grow. One of the areas that has been discussed is to open up the Bright area. There has been some discussion and have OKI using some INDOT funds to study a Stateline Road Connector. They have $160,000 from federal funds thru INDOT and $40,000 match to make up $200,000 for feasibility study. He needs approval to move $40,000 from MvHA substitute account to transfer those funds. They can’t make any commitments until the funding is done thru COUNTY COUNCIL. Lynch and McHenry approved sending Listerman to request that money from Council. Apparently Little is not necessary for this vote, though it is his district. [NOTE: This project is part of the old 2030 plan with INDOT and OKI will do the study. This will answer the question as to what route would be best and what the cost will be. Hopefully there will be more OPEN discussion of these ideas. This current request for study money has been known to officials but has not really been put out in any commissioners or council meetings. It was mentioned during a master plan advisory meeting last fall. ]

Many of you have seen recent press regarding the courthouse annex discussion that was scheduled to be held at tonight’s County Council meeting.

Because this is a matter that personally impacts several department heads, I thought I would update you before leaving this evening so you get a timely update from our office.

Tonight, after some discussion, council and commissioners agreed to put together an informal group that includes Council president, Auditor, Treasurer, President of Board of Commissioners, County Administrator, and a handful of other key individuals to meet to review the progress to-date, options researched, open issues/questions, status of finances, funding options, and general consensus on how to proceed. There was general agreement that the space issues need to be addressed and a commitment to keep the matter moving forward to a decision. Some members of council voiced their position that, ultimately, Commissioners will have to take all under advisement and provide a recommendation and funding request for a solution in the near future. However, this will be a productive next step to allow all issues and questions to be discussed and brought to the Commissioners as they make that recommendation. It was agreed that this meeting would be scheduled in the very near future.

Also, the Commissioners want to thank Dennis Kraus, Sr. for his service to Dearborn County in his role as County Council President these many years. Due to health concerns, Mr. Kraus suggested the board nominate another member to serve as president. The board elected Randy Lyness as president and Dennis Kraus, Sr. will serve as vice president. I know you join the Commissioners in thanking Mr. Kraus for his leadership, commitment, and contributions as president. We also hope this gives him a well-deserved opportunity to put his health and family first.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Below is a copy of the document I gave to each Council member prior to the meeting 13 January. This work is a compilation of ideas from citizens, from discussions at meetings, and sources mentioned in the document. ~ Christine Brauer Mueller

[Note- RQAW did original jail designs about 10 years ago and DLZ is the firm doing it now. Maxwell is the construction manager on the project. Contracts for design and management base their pay of these firms on a percentage of the project cost. ]

PARKING AREA NEEDED- source Lawrenceburg BZA meeting tape and regs- at least 120 MORE spaces. This EXCLUDES the Votaw Shumway space as that was already used to get the variance on parking for the jail addition. NO ADDITIONAL PARKING IS IN THE PLAN OR COSTS YET.

SPACE NEEDS ANALYSIS- source- notes, presentations, and minutes of commissioners and council

RQAW->Maxwell ->DLZ- stated needs for the Courthouse occupants including future magistrate space etc. would take 37,000 sq ft. This is above the RAW SQUARE FOOTAGE and it is also above the USABLE sq ft in the Courthouse that he stated was 16,000 sq ft. 37,000sq ft – 16,000 sq ft = 21,000 more sq ft needed than exists in the courthouse.

DLZ DESIGNS DRAFTS of ANNEX- source- notes, presentations, and minutes of commissioners and council

Original design has 45,000 sq ft. June 2014. Redone versions have about 37,000 sq ft. with different facades from Nov 2014. Price tags that Maxwell said he was comfortable saying are firm numbers = total costs which run from $ 11.2 million – 12+ million.

IMAGINE- Every usable space in both buildings DOUBLED. This would vastly increase interior and exterior maintenance, HVAC, furnishing, and cleaning person hours. So operating costs and staffing go up also.

BUDGET CONSTRAINTS-source- Auditor’s office

Riverboat savings has about $8 million in it now. If we cut square footage to 21,000 sq ft- then mathematically 21,000/45,000 x $12 million = $5.6 million. This number is closer to the budget the Council was considering.

LOCATION OF ANNEX- what happens if we vary the annex use and location?

Current design connects two buildings that require different levels of security. Proposed plan increases security for both and has increased security hours due to evening meetings in ADM BLDG side.

If we could use the current ADM building and add another floor it would yield 35,000 sq ft of usable space total. It could be connected via breezeway or tunnel to Courthouse. If the ADM building occupants moved to a new location, the upper floor could be added with little disturbance to any staff from air handlers, construction noise, etc. This would maximize the potential of the ADM building as originally conceived.

The ADM staff would go to a new building location that would not require the strict security measures that the Courthouse staff needs.

Design of new building will have no historical building issues or stained brick maintenance issues that would be part of the current plans.

Parking could be incorporated in the new ADM building by building it on top of a parking garage with the 120 or so required and needed parking spaces for the campus project.

INCREASING TAXES- Increasing COIT to pay for this would hit every wage earner and affect business development in the county.

Also present: Gayle Pennington, Auditor and Teresa Randall, County Administrator

Commissioner Kevin Lynch was also present.

The meeting room was full tonight.

REORGANIZATION:Election of President and Vice President- Dennis Kraus opened the meeting by asking to be excluded from any nominations for President due to health reasons- his cardiologist said he didn’t need all this stress.

Ullrich nominated Lyness for for President. No other nominations. Lansing seconded. Approved Lyness. Ullrich thanked Kraus for all his years of service.

Lyness took over as President.

Lansing nominated Kraus due to his years of experience and Ullrich seconded for Dennis Kraus to be VP.

Appointment of Boards and Board Seats

Plan Commission- Dan Lansing

CVTB- Ryan Brandt

Community Corrections, and Juvenile Advisory Board- Liz Morris

SIRPC - Dennis Kraus

Dearborn County Economic Development - Randy Lyness

Solid Waste-Randy Lyness

Personnel Advisory Committee- Dennis Kraus and Randy Lyness

Community Mental Health- Charlie Keyes

Emergency Management Advisory- Bill Ullrich

PTABOA- Bill Hartwell

Alcohol Beverage Board- Glen Huismann

Park Board- Terry Stephens- Question regarding his political affiliation. Appointed until his affiliation could be verified. Brandt motioned and Lansing seconded.

Security Committee for Courthouse - Bill Ullrich

OKI- Mark McCormack

Health Dept- Dr Scudder - job requirements- Lyness said Council approved the funding already and so does this properly belong to the Personnel Advisory Committee? Or it could go to an executive session as it is for Dr Scudder to discuss an employee. That would require executive session advertising with 48 hours notice. Ullrich said they should schedule a session sooner rather than later. Randall said that the Commissioners are aware of this problem and it should go to Personnel Advisory Committee. Lyness will be out of town so other Council member will sit in for him at the PAC Committee. PAC will meet next Thursday Jan 22. Ryan Brandt will sit in for Lyness at that meeting. An executive session will need to be scheduled after that. And they will have to schedule a regular meeting after that. Tabled until PAC meets.

Highway Dept.- Tim Grieve- Wilmington Hills South- Asked to move money from 4916 account MvHA Substitute account. Found out the tube was installed incorrectly years ago and the culvert completely failed. The road is caving off on the side. There is only one way in and out of the subdivision. They are planning on using a re- line and using a caisson to extract the caved in material. They didn’t catch it soon enough to do a plastic liner. 30 ft deep and 142 ft long. They can’t dig it out due to the access issues for those 8 homes. Process takes about a week. They also will have to find a place to put the spoils also. $148,657. Grieve considered this to be a permanent fix. Ullrich motioned and Keyes seconded. Approved by Council.

Grieve thanked Council for putting the asphalt program into the budget in advance of the spring so he can get things done.

Regional Sewer District- Steve Renihan- Stateline Road Project- passed out information to Council and asked for funding. They have commitments. $66,562.28 that will benefit about 20 homes. Some of these are on 1/4 acre lots and have no other options for septic. The reduced cost is due to Badinghaus opening business there near Bond Rd.LMH will treat the sewage. Lynn's asked about the service lines thru the school area. Project ca grow thru Murray Drive and Justis Road. The project will go out to bid. Rennin said 4 homes want to hook up now. Once they get the lines out they send letters out to the homeowners in the area to see who wants to participate. Infrastructure costs are about $3,000 per home. And then grinder pump and lateral. Total about $9,000 per home. they generally get about 50% to sign up early on. They send a letter of encouragement to homes they know are having issues. They do NOT force them on. Council approved the funding transfer, after Morris motioned and Kraus seconded. Charlie Keyes abstained. No reason given.

Commissioners- Terri Randall- DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED COURTHOUSE ANNEX PROJECT- Randall said they ( Commissioner Lynch, Alyssa Pullman from Maxwell, and Scott, DLZ architect.) would be there to answer any questions.

Morris said she wanted to have a recommendation from Commissioners first as to what building they wanted.

Kraus said that the original letter from Maxwell said they needed 20,000s q ft and now we are looking at 45,000 sq ft. He wants to know why we are considering a bigger building?

The architect (Scott) said that 24,000 sq ft are in 2 floors and the basement makes up the rest of the 37,000 sq ft.

Ullrich asked about could that space be parking? There is definite need for parking.

Keyes asked for the cost of the presentation.

Alissa Rullman said they have had no direction yet since the Nov meeting from the county.

Keyes said Commissioners need to decide. He also said he is not in favor of raising taxes to pay for this. He thinks we will be in trouble with people’s jobs now.

Lyness said he thinks they are trying to work with us to see what we want. What if we get a group together to look at alternatives?

Keyes agrees we need to improve the space- but he doesn’t want to run out of money.

Ullrich said there are some real problems that need to be addressed. It will take time and more study.

Kraus said Ripley County built a 42,000 sq ft building for $12million.

Kevin Lynch- said maybe the Auditor, the President of Commission and Council get together and look at our financial situation. [NOTE: Why not do that publicly? And why not have some of the taxpayers involved? ] Initially it would be a good idea from a financial standpoint to understand where we are.

Lansing said he wishes there were more than one option.

Morris said that this could be the last big project that the County needs to address. Jail was considered the most important need first. Now we have Judge Blankenship working in an unsafe situation. This would set the county for the next 20 years.

Ullrich said we have to keep the public safe too and also doesn’t want to raise taxes either.

Brandt said we have spent $250,000 so far- should we spend more on plans?

Lansing said- yes- if it saves $5 million.

Kraus said for $250,000 we should have gotten options.

Lyness said we shouldn’t slam anybody that did their best to give their design opinion.

Kraus said we need to have people here at a public meeting like for the jail to work this out.

Lyness said they will meet with Kevin and Gaye and Terri Randall and Alyssa and start to work on this. That is the next step.

No public was asked to speak. Many left at this point.

I passed out a 2 page document prior to the meeting on the Math of the proposals. Also not addressed. [NOTE: Several in this little group seems to have a conflict of interest.They work for or with Maxwell or have family that does.]

AUDITOR - Gayle Pennington- Salary Ordinance- This is the up to date version- and it needs all Council members’s signatures for DLGF and will be published in the paper and uploaded to the GATEWAY for internet access. Approved and signed after Kraus and Keyes motioned.

Sept and Nov meeting minutes approved. November minutes were done in detail at Kraus’s request.

For the Council meeting schedule 2015 they will meet on the 4th Tuesday at 6:30 PM when they meet in May and Nov. and Aug 24-28 will be budget hearings.

PUBLIC:

Richard Johnson- thinks we got a little snookered on that jail. And he wants to have people speak into the microphone so we can hear.

Christine Mueller- reminded them that I had given them a 2 page document to consider about the annex project. They said they had it and the moved to adjourn. [NOTE: No questions? Really? :-)]

Terri to follow up with Doug Denmure on the Aurora Industrial Park sign after Dr, Rahe had contacted him.

CLAIMS AND FINANCIALS:

Voucher for Oren Turner salary approved.

$6070.63- Terri and Sue salaries, Maxwell consultant fee, etc.

I-74 Marketing Group dues- Randall said DCEDI had been involved with this for a number of years. Dues were taken over last year by DCRC and she attends their meetings at times. She said she is spread thin enough so someone else on the board will hopefully go to this. [NOTE: This Economic Development Director position was to be reviewed in a year when they set it up, so perhaps it is time to take a look at it again.] Dues are $2000. She recommends staying in it. And they market us. The next level is to send site selectors out by helicopter. Helms said that he was on the original founding group. He is willing to go whenever Terri can’t. Approved to pay dues.

REDI meeting- Rahe said he went to a meeting- they are doing a tremendous job- doing what EDI could do but on a bigger scale. They will share every lead they get and they market throughout the world.We can’t get kind of extensive service anywhere else. $10,000 per year to get on the board. Jim Deaton- agrees- more important than their contacts is their marketing around the world. The EDI money could help defray the cost on this. Randall said we feel like the stepchild to Indianapolis and also to the Greater Cinti region. They were just thrilled that we contacted them. There was a business development person who was quite sharp and would come out to mentor me. We can take them with to take to prospective businesses. Deaton said they were a very dynamic group. If they can sell us the way they sold themselves to us- they will be great. It’s the $10,000 level that will build that relationship. They want to consider the 3 year option as it will take that long. Randall said that EDI is going to dissolve and their funds will cover this. The Board decided to join REDI at the $10,000 level.[NOTE: Why does this still seem unconvincing?]

NEW BUSINESS:

Rahe said that we should be looking ahead to get some fund for future economic development in Dearborn County- 10-20 years down the road. What lands are available- level land around Dillsboro and Moores Hill. We need to look at how to open that up- highways, the RR that runs to Batesville. This Cross County Highway could intersect all of that. To see if we want to look at that- just bringing it up. Deddens said that was talked about years ago.Randall said we are just beginning the whole visioning process- to get communities to do their updates to all their Comp Plan. Aurora, Lawrenceburg, the county and Dillsboro are finished or finishing this. Then get the County Plan Dept to put this all together. Then take this to an economic development plan. Randall said she takes in leads all the time- she did get one lead that was viable for Dillsboro but it didn’t work out. It has been focused on unincorporated areas of the county that are near the interstates. They may do a labor shed out there in the Dillsboro area. She said that we are going thru a few growing pains but we are working on it. State won’t pour federal dollars in unless redevelopment is imminent. She was with INDOT meeting on American Structurepointe’s presentation on Bellevue and I-275. Kraus said- it’s not just roads- it’s electricity, sewer and utilities. [NOTE: And telecommunications and tech services.] Helms talked about the old maps showing the future of this county area and roads. Randall said that St. Leon will grow too- and we are continuing dialogs there.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER’S REPORT- Randall had already discussed her part.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT- EDI Dissolution money- Ewan said that the funds get split between DCRC and the Chamber $9707.15 is our 50% share. The board motioned to accept the money and then to put it towards the $10,000 to join REDI.The balance will come out of Fund 4931 operating expenses. Randall said the timing of that was quite nice.

Click on Link Below for Pictures and Price Tags for County Campus Project in Thursday's edition of the Dearborn County Register.http://etypeservices.com/Register%20PublicationsID520/Default.aspx?Message=2&Publication=2399Look at your property tax assessment for 2015. It's available online at the Assessor's section of the county website. http://www.dearborncounty.org/department/index.php?structureid=14Then scroll down to Property GIS search. You can also use the property tax estimator after you search for your assessment. The stakeholders who were on the advisory committee were the county employees or officials whose offices were in the Courthouse and slated to move to the newer spaces. Regular taxpaying citizens were not given a voice on nor view of this project until the design was finished and presented at the Nov Council meeting. Council tabled it for review. Now do you think you should go to the Jan 13th meeting? Or call or email your Council members?The link below goes to the 7 Council members. Click their name for email and phone numbers. Dennis Kraus, Sr. is the current President of Council.http://www.dearborncounty.org/egov/apps/staff/directory.egov?structureid=11

The purpose is to discuss interviews and negotiations with industrial or commercial prospects or agents of industrial or commercial prospects by the Indiana economic development corporation, the office of tourism development, the Indiana finance authority, an economic development commission, a local economic development organization (as defined in IC 5-28-11-2(3), or a governing body of a political subdivision.

This is classified confidential by state and federal statute.

IC 5-14-1.5-6.1(b) (4)

And also for the purposes of discussing strategy with the respect to the purchase or lease of real property by the governing body up to the time a contract or option to purchase or lease is executed by the parties.

Community Corrections Grant Approval – Steve Kelly - 2015 thru 2017 by DOC rules and regs to have grant start in July 2015 and ends in June 2017. They asked for $100,000 more to add a new J-Cap counselor for the additional 16 J-Cap beds added to the jail. $40,000 salary plus benefits and the rest will go for work release staffer for that pod. Baudendistel reiterate that they need this for the Drug Court issues. They need an additional staff member due to HB 1006. They want to add an employee in the jail to work for the work release pod. checking people in and out. They had $493,000 and now will have $593,000+. McHenry brought out that if the grant goes away, then the position goes away too. Council can’t fund this.McHenry thinks expansion of Work release is a great idea. Baudendistel said that if they are going to serve a year or less, then they spend it locally in jail or work release etc and not in DOC. Level 6 felonies will be served here. Kelly said hey are asking for this extra money due to this. The $493000 was annual for the last 15 years. They are due for increase he said. Grant Approved.

Homeland Security Sub-Grant Agreement Approval – Bill Black- already approved to apply for - $17,000 to get a portable repeater for the 800MgHz system in areas with no coverage. This is for 2014. Signed.

Black asked about getting a transfer of a 30 ft box trailer from AEP and since they can’t use it- they want to donate it to Boy Scouts Troop 637 of Aurora. It is worth less than $5000. Andy will type it up- value is about $3,000.Lynch wants Black to be sure no one in the county gov’t needs it first.

Regional Trails Alliance – Mark McCormack -(Resolution of Support for the Regional Trials Alliance Trial Plan)- presented the model put together by Green Umbrella. In Dearborn County there are 2 connections - Whitewater Canal area to Brookville and also along the levees down by the Ohio River in the US 50 area. There are areas for further areas for study- Old rail line and Laughery Creek areas. Baudendistel has a copy f the resolution. We are planing to put this in our comprehensive plan as a point of reference. Baudendistel had no issues with this. Commissioners adopted this resolution. Kevin Lynch pointed out as an officer of OKI he didn’t think he needed to remove himself from voting on it- thought they were involved with the Green Umbrella group too.

Cancellation of Bond with RLI – Acceptance of Bond with Travelers (cell tower)- $25,000 bond and RLI is insurance company. There i a new bond with Travelers to cover this same amount. 15141 Leffler Road Aurora is the tower location. Approved. This was sent back to Sue Hayden then.

Ratify Signature for Lutz Auction Contract- This was for sale of personal property. Terms similar to last year. McHenry signed this on Dec 31. He did the auction Saturday. Ratified.

Jail Project Change Orders – Brad Rullman- multiple ones. one more after this-and he anticipates being under budget. Final will be in February meeting. Bulk of construction wrapped up in the next two weeks Change orders:

Valley Interiors - additional framing for firewalls that had to be modified and replace ceiling tile $1,320 additional. Approved.

Valley Interiors- Repair wet ceiling $2520 added to them tat was deducted from contractor tat caused it. Repair in Lusby’s office also for $3,378 total with the $2520 coming back from Triton services later on. Approved.

Jail Correctional Products $2468 deducted for work done by another source previously.Approved

Jail Correctional Products- door for food passage needed to be able to lock differently- $1054 Approved.

ADMINISTRATOR – Terri Randall-thanked them for her reappointment. She presented:

Contract for Volunteer Recruitment Program - Randall said they had $100,000 from Council last year to reduce the amount of missed runs. This goes back to the units. $10,000 was set aside to get a more targeted recruitment program. They haven’t really made any firm decision on the recruitment. They want to have an agreement on ow this will be accomplished. McHenry already signed this. This agreement is with all the volunteer squads. $10,000 annually provided it is granted by the Council annually. Distribution will be at the discretion of the commissioners. Data and results will be provided to see which of their programs are effective. The ways to spend it could be videos, incentives, education rebates, etc. Ratified McHenry’s signature. [Note:Why did this have to be signed outside of a meeting?]

Insurance Renewal Update- Randall -county has worked to get their fees down. They needed to control their risk and improve safety. She has dogged this to get this down. There were hours and hours of multiple applications for insurance companies to cover us. Minimal WC savings last year. Much better this year. Jail claim that was lopsided. They got the $25,000 down to $7500. Current Insurance company had a $100,000 increase so Travelers rated us much better this year than in previous years and Chubb has the flood coverage. They have to do a structured program of safety skills for Veteran’s services vans.

Savings was $25,000 on the whole. Satisfied with all the work and Sue Ellen in HR and the things that Terri herself has pushed. McHenry signed to bind the coverage. Ratified McHenry’s signatures on insurance renewal forms. [NOTE: this is the 3rd ratified signature at this meeting.]

Barnes & Thornburg State Legislative Services engagement letter-lobbyists contract is automatically renewed unless not budgeted. There is also a legislative relations counsel and they have weekly phone update with her every Friday. $5,000 fixed fee per month. This drops to $3,000 per month form May to Dec when sessions are wrapped up. Approved.

Additional items not on the agenda - Randall said that Steve Kelly needed copies of the non-collusion acceptance form for the grant a couple month’s ago. Approved.

Cinti Bell needed a right of entry agreement thru March 31, 2015 and needed to research who owned underground conduit. This allows them to run the fiberoptic in plastic conduit we own. They will need to give 90 days to terminate with Century Link and then will contact with into Bell. They are avoiding the termination fees for early termination with Century Link. Approved.

ATTORNEY: Andy Baudendistel- Ordinance to Amend the Animal Control Ordinance- looked over our grace period and amended the penalty section. 14 day grace period does not apply if a dog bites a person. They also fixed a scribner’s error. They also can Quarantine at the director’s discretion a dog if a minor bite AND has up to date shots. Approved.

Emery’s resolution on the transfer of property in Aurora - the same as when she was Clerk Treasurer in Moore’s Hill- Baudendistel prepared a similar resolution for Conwell Street property to transfer it to the city of Aurora and demolish it with the outcome of economic growth and development. This is one of the blight resolution properties. Approved. Stratman- Aurora’s attorney was also consulted on this.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS- Lynch wanted to reiterate the insurance situation and how important it is to get all these people to quote our coverage. He also wants to recognize the passing of Bill McClure- the WW II veteran who advocated for the armed services in our area. Moment of silence for his passing at age 90.

Little- reiterate that it was bunch of people who worked on the insurance. McClure was a treasure of stories. Born in northern Dearborn County. Everybody stay warm- a cold week ahead. Hoping the snow misses us Wednesday.

Friday, January 02, 2015

Public Access Counselor Informal Opinion on Commissioner's Committees and County Attorney's Assertion of Attorney-Client Privilege
The link below takes you to the Public Access Counselor's Webpage for his opinion. Below it is a text copy of Mr Britt's legal opinion. The PAC's three opinions are highlighted in red for the three questions asked.The Nov 26 posting on this blog regarding the 5 vote rule for salary ordinances for council and Dec 3 posting of the County Attorney's response on the 5 vote rule were followed by another email from the County Attorney to the Commissioners, Council, Auditor, and Administrator. That last email prompted my questions for the Public Access Counselor. In it the county attorney said he was concerned that his first email had turned up on the Dearborn County blog. He stated that "Any communications including in person discussions, phone calls, emails, letters, etc. that I have with you are confidential and any you have with me are confidential pursuant to State statute (attorney-client privilege..." He further stated that "any disclosure of these communications are a violation of, and could constitute a waiver of, the attorney client privilege."I had issues with that- one was that the email was sent to some people who were NOT his clients. The Commissioners are his clients. Secondly, I had obtained the first email by requesting it as a public record. My final issue is with the wording of his second email to his clients (and others) suggesting that they would be in violation of the attorney client privilege. The Public Access Counselor's response clarifies the attorney relationship with the client. The attorney must keep the client's confidentiality. The client can choose at any time to disclose the attorney's information and thus WAIVES confidentiality at that time.One must wonder what is so secret about this particular opinion? His email pretty much reiterates what he said at the public Council meeting when he was arguing for a simple majority vote vs. the 5 vote rule they had used at least since the 1980's. For a County that claims to pride itself on transparency, this secretive behavior seems to say otherwise.http://www.in.gov/pac/informal/files/14-INF-33.pdf

This is in response to your informal inquiry regarding the Dearborn County Government.
Pursuant to Ind. Code § 5-14-4-10(5), I issue the following informal opinion in response
to your inquiry. My opinion is based on applicable provisions of the Open Door Law
(“ODL”), Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5-1 et seq. and the Access to Public Records Act
(“APRA”), Ind. Code § 5-14-3-1 et. seq.

BACKGROUND

Your informal inquiry regarding Dearborn County Government was threefold. First, you
inquired whether committees created by the Dearborn County Commissioners are subject
to the Open Door Law (ODL) and if so, whether the committee must publish notice of
meetings and keep official minutes.
Second, you inquired if an email communication containing legal advice, sent by the Commissioner’s attorney to additional parties, is subject to attorney-client privilege.
Finally, you inquired if it is illegal to publish information provided to the public, such as an email mentioned in your second inquiry.

DISCUSSION

It is the intent of the ODL that the official action of public agencies be conducted and
taken openly, unless otherwise expressly provided by statute, in order that the people may
be fully informed. See Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5-1. The term “public agency” is defined very
broadly by the ODL and encompasses many meanings, which are set forth at Ind. Code §
5-14-1.5-2(a).

Accordingly, except as provided in section 6.1 of the ODL, all meetings of the governing
bodies of public agencies must be open at all times for the purpose of permitting
members of the public to observe and record them. See Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5-3(a). The
ODL requires that public notice of the date, time, and place of any meetings, executive
sessions, or of any rescheduled or reconvened meeting, shall be given at least forty-eight hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) before the meeting. See Ind.
Code § 5-14-1.5-5(a). The notice must be posted at the principal office of the agency, or
if no such office exists, at the place where the meeting is held. See Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5-
5(b)(1). While the governing body is required to provide notice to news media who have
requested notices nothing requires the governing body to publish the notice in a
newspaper. See Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5-5(b)(2).

The ODL requires the following memoranda to be kept: the date, time, and place of the
meeting; the members of the governing body recorded as either present or absent; the
general substance of all matters proposed, discussed, or decided; and a record of all votes
taken, by individual members, if there is no roll call. The memoranda are to be available
within a reasonable period of time after the meeting for the purpose of informing the
public of the governing body’s proceedings. There is no requirement in the ODL for a
public agency to keep minutes of its meeting. If minutes are kept, the minutes are to be
open for public inspection and copying. See Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5-4.

The ODL defines a public agency in Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5- (a) as
(1) Any board, commission, department, agency, authority, or other entity,
by whatever name designated, exercising a portion of the executive,
administrative, or legislative power of the state.
(2) Any county, township, School Corporation, city, town, political
subdivision, or other entity, by whatever name designated, exercising in a
limited geographical area the executive, administrative, or legislative
power of the state or a delegated local governmental power.

The ODL defines a governing body as:
two (2) or more individuals who are:
(1) A public agency that:
(A) is a board, a commission, an authority, a council, a committee, a body,
or other entity; and (B) takes official action on public business
(2) The board, commission, council, or other body of a public agency
which takes official action upon public business. (3) Any committee
appointed directly by the governing body or its presiding officer to which
authority to take official action upon public business has been delegated.
See Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5-2 (b).

Therefore, I would need more information as to how the committees you reference areestablished before making a conclusive determination.

As for the email from the attorney you reference, Ind. Code § 34-46-3-1 provides a
statutory privilege regarding attorney and client communications. Indiana courts have
also recognized the confidentiality of such communications:

The privilege provides that when an attorney is consulted on business
within the scope of his profession, the communications on the subject
between him and his client should be treated as confidential. The privilege
applies to all communications to an attorney for the purpose of obtaining
professional legal advice or aid regarding the client's rights and liabilities.
Hueck v. State, 590 N.E.2d 581, 584 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992) (citations omitted).

Information subject to the attorney client privilege retains its privileged character until
the client has consented to its disclosure.” Mayberry v. State, 670 N.E.2d 1262, 1267
(Ind. 1996), citing Key v. State, 132 N.E.2d 143, 145 (Ind. 1956). Moreover, the Indiana
Court of Appeals has held that government agencies may rely on the attorney-client
privilege when they communicate with their attorneys on business within the scope of the
attorney’s profession. Board of Trustees of Public Employees Retirement Fund of Indiana
v. Morley, 580 N.E.2d 371 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991). ).

The privilege is asserted by the client and not the attorney, therefore a client may consentto disclosure. If an email containing attorney-client communication was shared with you,then the client has consented to waiving the privilege.Similarly, without a court order stating otherwise, there would be no prohibition onpublication of any information received via a public records request.